Field of Invention
An improved transcatheter prosthetic heart valve includes structural members, such as in the form of wire frames, which provide support for the valve and aid in reducing or preventing leakage.
Background
Valvular heart disease and specifically aortic and mitral valve disease is a significant health issue in the US. Annually approximately 90,000 valve replacements are conducted in the US. Traditional valve replacement surgery, the orthotopic replacement of a heart valve, is an “open heart” surgical procedure. Briefly, the procedure necessitates a surgical opening of the thorax, initiation of extra-corporeal circulation with a heart-lung machine, stopping and opening the heart, excision and replacement of the diseased valve, and re-starting of the heart. While valve replacement surgery typically carries a 1-4% mortality risk in otherwise healthy persons, a significantly higher morbidity is associated to the procedure, largely due to the necessity for extra-corporeal circulation. Further, open heart surgery is often poorly tolerated in elderly patients.
Thus if the extra-corporeal component of the procedure could be eliminated, morbidities and cost of valve replacement therapies would be significantly reduced.
While replacement of the aortic valve in a transcatheter manner is the subject of intense investigation, lesser attention has been focused on the mitral valve. This is in part reflective of the greater level of complexity associated to the native mitral valve apparatus and thus a greater level of difficulty with regards to inserting and anchoring the replacement prosthesis.
Various problems exist in this field, including problems of insufficient articulation and sealing of the valve within the native annulus, pulmonary edema due to poor atrial drainage, perivalvular leaking around the installed prosthetic valve, lack of a good fit for the prosthetic valve within the native mitral annulus, atrial tissue erosion, excess wear on the valve structures, interference with the aorta at the posterior side of the mitral annulus, and lack of customization, to name a few. Accordingly, there is still a need for an improved prosthetic mitral valve.